Description of Business and Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]	Description of Business and Basis of Presentation. General Icahn Enterprises L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises” or the “Company”) is a master limited partnership formed in Delaware on February 17, 1987. We own a 99% limited partner interest in Icahn Enterprises Holdings L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises Holdings”). Icahn Enterprises Holdings and its subsidiaries own substantially all of our assets and liabilities and conduct substantially all of our operations. Icahn Enterprises G.P. Inc. (“Icahn Enterprises GP”), our sole general partner, which is owned and controlled by Mr. Carl C. Icahn, owns a 1% general partner interest in both us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, representing an aggregate 1.99% general partner interest in us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings. As of March 31, 2012, affiliates of Mr. Icahn owned 92,812,051 of our depositary units which represented approximately 93.0% of our outstanding depositary units. In connection with a rights offering registered on Form S-3, which was declared effective on December 27, 2011, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates fully exercised their basic subscription rights and over-subscription rights allocated to them in January 2012 to acquire additional depositary units. Upon closing of the rights offering, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates owned 92,233,846, or 93.0%, of our outstanding depositary units. Refer to Note 13, "Net Income Per LP Unit," for further discussion. We are a diversified holding company owning subsidiaries currently engaged in the following continuing operating businesses: Investment, Automotive, Gaming, Railcar, Food Packaging, Metals, Real Estate and Home Fashion. We also report the results of our Holding Company, which includes the unconsolidated results of Icahn Enterprises and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, and investment activity and expenses associated with the Holding Company. Further information regarding our continuing reportable segments is contained in Note 2, “Operating Units,” and Note 14, “Segment Reporting.” The accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (“fiscal 2011”). The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) related to interim financial statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The financial information contained herein is unaudited; however, management believes all adjustments have been made that are necessary to present fairly the results for the interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. Certain reclassifications from the prior year presentation have been made to conform to the current year presentation. Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of (i) Icahn Enterprises and (ii) the wholly and majority owned subsidiaries of Icahn Enterprises, in addition to those entities in which we have a controlling interest as a general partner interest or in which we may be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). In evaluating whether we have a controlling financial interest in entities in which we would consolidate, we consider the following: (1) for voting interest entities, we consolidate these entities in which we own a majority of the voting interests; (2) for VIEs of which we may be considered the primary beneficiary of such entities (see Note 4, “Investments and Related Matters-Investment,” for further discussion regarding the accounting and reporting of our VIEs); and (3) for limited partnership entities that are not considered VIEs, we consolidate these entities if we are the general partner of such entities and for which no substantive kick-out rights (the rights underlying the limited partners' ability to dissolve the limited partnership or otherwise remove the general partners are collectively referred to as “kick-out” rights) or participating rights exist. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. We conduct and plan to continue to conduct our activities in such a manner as not to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “'40 Act”). Therefore, no more than 40% of our total assets can be invested in investment securities, as such term is defined in the '40 Act. In addition, we do not invest or intend to invest in securities as our primary business. We intend to structure our investments to continue to be taxed as a partnership rather than as a corporation under the applicable publicly traded partnership rules of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (the “Code”). Fair Value of Financial Instruments The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, cash held at consolidated affiliated partnerships and restricted cash, accounts receivable, due from brokers, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities and due to brokers are deemed to be reasonable estimates of their fair values because of their short-term nature. See Note 4, “Investments and Related Matters,” and Note 5, “Fair Value Measurements,” for a detailed discussion of our investments. The fair value of our long-term debt is based on the quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on the current rates offered to us for debt of the same remaining maturities. The carrying value and estimated fair value of our long-term debt as of March 31, 2012 was approximately $7.3 billion and $7.5 billion, respectively. The carrying value and estimated fair value of our long-term debt as of December 31, 2011 was each approximately $6.5 billion. Restricted Cash Our restricted cash balance was approximately $1.6 billion and $4.8 billion as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. Adoption of New Accounting Standards In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") No. 2011-04, which amends Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. This ASU clarifies among other things, the intent about the application of existing fair value requirements, including those related to highest and best use concepts, and also expands the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. This ASU clarifies that a reporting entity should disclose quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used in a fair value measurement that is categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Additionally, this ASU expands the disclosures for fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 where a reporting entity is required to include a description of the valuation processes used and the sensitivity of the fair value measurement to changes in unobservable inputs and the interrelationships between those unobservable inputs, if any. Additional disclosure is also required for any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy of fair value measurements on a gross basis as well as additional disclosure of the level in the fair value hierarchy of assets and liabilities that are not recorded at fair value. For many of the requirements, the FASB does not intend for this ASU to result in a change in the application of the requirements in FASB ASC Topic 820. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, which amends FASB ASC Topic 220, Comprehensive Income. This ASU is intended to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income in the financial statements by presenting the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. This ASU eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. This ASU does not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, which amends FASB ASC Topic 350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. This ASU permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test described in ASC Topic 350. Under the amendments in this ASU, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-12, which defers certain provisions contained in ASU No. 2011-05, as discussed above, requiring the requirement to present components of reclassifications of other comprehensive income on the face of the income statement or in the notes to the financial statements. However, this deferral does not impact the other requirements contained in the new standard on comprehensive income as described above. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. Filing Status of Subsidiaries Federal-Mogul Corporation (“Federal-Mogul”), American Railcar Industries, Inc. (“ARI”) and Tropicana Entertainment Inc. (“Tropicana”) are each a reporting entity under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and file annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy and information statements. Each of these reports is publicly available at www.sec.gov.

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation.

General

Icahn Enterprises L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises” or the “Company”) is a master limited partnership formed in Delaware on February 17, 1987. We own a 99% limited partner interest in Icahn Enterprises Holdings L.P. (“Icahn Enterprises Holdings”). Icahn Enterprises Holdings and its subsidiaries own substantially all of our assets and liabilities and conduct substantially all of our operations. Icahn Enterprises G.P. Inc. (“Icahn Enterprises GP”), our sole general partner, which is owned and controlled by Mr. Carl C. Icahn, owns a 1% general partner interest in both us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, representing an aggregate 1.99% general partner interest in us and Icahn Enterprises Holdings. As of March 31, 2012, affiliates of Mr. Icahn owned 92,812,051 of our depositary units which represented approximately 93.0% of our outstanding depositary units. In connection with a rights offering registered on Form S-3, which was declared effective on December 27, 2011, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates fully exercised their basic subscription rights and over-subscription rights allocated to them in January 2012 to acquire additional depositary units. Upon closing of the rights offering, Mr. Icahn and his affiliates owned 92,233,846, or 93.0%, of our outstanding depositary units. Refer to Note 13, "Net Income Per LP Unit," for further discussion.

We are a diversified holding company owning subsidiaries currently engaged in the following continuing operating businesses: Investment, Automotive, Gaming, Railcar, Food Packaging, Metals, Real Estate and Home Fashion. We also report the results of our Holding Company, which includes the unconsolidated results of Icahn Enterprises and Icahn Enterprises Holdings, and investment activity and expenses associated with the Holding Company. Further information regarding our continuing reportable segments is contained in Note 2, “Operating Units,” and Note 14, “Segment Reporting.”

The accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (“fiscal 2011”). The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) related to interim financial statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The financial information contained herein is unaudited; however, management believes all adjustments have been made that are necessary to present fairly the results for the interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. Certain reclassifications from the prior year presentation have been made to conform to the current year presentation.

Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of (i) Icahn Enterprises and (ii) the wholly and majority owned subsidiaries of Icahn Enterprises, in addition to those entities in which we have a controlling interest as a general partner interest or in which we may be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). In evaluating whether we have a controlling financial interest in entities in which we would consolidate, we consider the following: (1) for voting interest entities, we consolidate these entities in which we own a majority of the voting interests; (2) for VIEs of which we may be considered the primary beneficiary of such entities (see Note 4, “Investments and Related Matters-Investment,” for further discussion regarding the accounting and reporting of our VIEs); and (3) for limited partnership entities that are not considered VIEs, we consolidate these entities if we are the general partner of such entities and for which no substantive kick-out rights (the rights underlying the limited partners' ability to dissolve the limited partnership or otherwise remove the general partners are collectively referred to as “kick-out” rights) or participating rights exist. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

We conduct and plan to continue to conduct our activities in such a manner as not to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “'40 Act”). Therefore, no more than 40% of our total assets can be invested in investment securities, as such term is defined in the '40 Act. In addition, we do not invest or intend to invest in securities as our primary business. We intend to structure our investments to continue to be taxed as a partnership rather than as a corporation under the applicable publicly traded partnership rules of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (the “Code”).

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, cash held at consolidated affiliated partnerships and restricted cash, accounts receivable, due from brokers, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities and due to brokers are deemed to be reasonable estimates of their fair values because of their short-term nature.

See Note 4, “Investments and Related Matters,” and Note 5, “Fair Value Measurements,” for a detailed discussion of our investments.

The fair value of our long-term debt is based on the quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on the current rates offered to us for debt of the same remaining maturities. The carrying value and estimated fair value of our long-term debt as of March 31, 2012 was approximately $7.3 billion and $7.5 billion, respectively. The carrying value and estimated fair value of our long-term debt as of December 31, 2011 was each approximately $6.5 billion.

Restricted Cash

Our restricted cash balance was approximately $1.6 billion and $4.8 billion as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") No. 2011-04, which amends Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. This ASU clarifies among other things, the intent about the application of existing fair value requirements, including those related to highest and best use concepts, and also expands the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. This ASU clarifies that a reporting entity should disclose quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used in a fair value measurement that is categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Additionally, this ASU expands the disclosures for fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 where a reporting entity is required to include a description of the valuation processes used and the sensitivity of the fair value measurement to changes in unobservable inputs and the interrelationships between those unobservable inputs, if any. Additional disclosure is also required for any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy of fair value measurements on a gross basis as well as additional disclosure of the level in the fair value hierarchy of assets and liabilities that are not recorded at fair value. For many of the requirements, the FASB does not intend for this ASU to result in a change in the application of the requirements in FASB ASC Topic 820. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, which amends FASB ASC Topic 220, Comprehensive Income. This ASU is intended to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income in the financial statements by presenting the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. This ASU eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. This ASU does not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, which amends FASB ASC Topic 350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. This ASU permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test described in ASC Topic 350. Under the amendments in this ASU, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-12, which defers certain provisions contained in ASU No. 2011-05, as discussed above, requiring the requirement to present components of reclassifications of other comprehensive income on the face of the income statement or in the notes to the financial statements. However, this deferral does not impact the other requirements contained in the new standard on comprehensive income as described above. This update is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.

Filing Status of Subsidiaries

Federal-Mogul Corporation (“Federal-Mogul”), American Railcar Industries, Inc. (“ARI”) and Tropicana Entertainment Inc. (“Tropicana”) are each a reporting entity under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and file annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy and information statements. Each of these reports is publicly available at www.sec.gov.